District: Providence School District
Author: Jason Allard
Introduction
Classical High School, founded in 1843, is a public exam school in the Providence School District, in Providence RI. It was originally an all-male school, but has since become co-ed. Its motto is a translation of the famous translated Latin phrase, "To Strive, to Seek, to Find, and Not to Yield". It has been rated "High Performing and Sustaining" by its performance in 2005 on the New Standards Reference Exam, placing it third highest in the state. Classical High School stands roughly at the intersection of the Federal Hill, West End, and Upper South Providence neighborhoods.Classical High School is a magnet school, which is a public school offering a specialized curriculum, often with high academic standards, to a student body representing a cross section of the community. According to data from 2009, there are 1045 kids enrolled in grades 9-12. There are 69 teachers, which equates to a student to teacher ratio of 15:1. Of the freshman who were enrolled from 2004-2005, 93.8% graduated in 2008 (Info Source). This number is significantly higher than the state average of 74% in 2008. The purpose of this report is to analyze three main factors that play a role in Classical High School's performance. The three that will be covered are the following: Accountability (student achievement), students' point of view, and health behaviors.
Classical High School Location:
FIG. 2
Classical High School is proficient in both mathematics and English language arts based on the Rhode Island state target. The Rhode Island state target for mathematics was an estimated score of 62 and the average for all students was 79.6. The Rhode Island state target for English language arts was an estimated score of 75. The score for all students in English language arts was 21.3 points higher than the state target at an average score of 96.3. The above Fig. 1 shows a comparison between score averages of all students, Hispanic students, and economically discouraged students. Each of the statistics required a minimum 45 students in each group, so some demographics may not be represented. The performance of each of the groups represented are consistent with each other and show that cultural and economic backgrounds do not play a factor in this school's performance.
In addition to the greatly exceeding each of the state targets, Classical High School also boasts a huge participation rate. According to data from the InfoWorks website, 100% of the students enrolled at Classical High School who were eligible to take the exams participated, as can be seen in Fig. 2. It can be said that with regards to testing and state standards, Classical is maintaining consistent positive results both in Mathematics and English Language Arts. The demographics that were not included (African American, Asian, Native American, students with disabilities) may have fully participated, but did not meet the requirement of 45 participants in order for their results to be published in the report. Of the 19 targets evaluated for Classical High School, 19 were met. This reinforces the notion that Classical is a high performing high school.
Performance progress from the past 5 years has shown a consistent trend between Rhode Island test scores and the scores of Classical High School. Mathematics test scores show a correlation in the slight decline that has occurred. Despite this, Classical's mathematics scores are still 12-15 points higher than the state average over the 5 years. In English and Language Arts, the state and Classical High School have shown consistency, although the scores for Classical are repeatedly 10 points above the state average. Simply put, the students at Classical are high achieving and show no signs of declining.
Students attending Classical High School reported a relatively low percent of negative emotions compared to other Rhode Island High Schools. Of the students, 45% felt that they could talk to a teacher about academic issues and 10% felt comfortable enough to talk about personal or family problems.Of the students, 1 out of 5 reported not getting along with teachers and roughly 1 out of 4 reported drug use being pressured upon them. Less than 1 out of 10 students felt that bullying was a problem, however. Contrasting with this statistic, almost 1 out of 3 students reported that they have been robbed. To summarize, violence is not a major factor in Classical High School, but drug use and robbery seem to be a bigger problem. As an inner city school with a low amount of income, the students' actions may be reflective of their socioeconomic standing. The children need money so they resort to stealing or selling drugs. They rarely resort to violence, though. Based on the students' reactions to their environment, Classical High School needs to take further precautions into how students protect their belongings. Solutions to these problems may be to ensure working lockers, have a hallway patrol system, or to education students on ways they could handle their belongings more responsibly.
Conclusion
Overrall, Classical High School is a high performing school located in inner city Providence. While taking into account demographics as well as factors such as accountability, student's point of view, and health statistics, it is astounding to see the progress such a school has made. The fact that it is a magnet school reinforces the idea that the students at Classical are there because they want to learn. Compared to schools in the surrounding area it can be seen that Classical is a special school in that it is able to educate children in a supportive environment despite the generally poor communities surrounding it. More information on these surrounding schools can be located in the related context reports and can provide a more in depth comparison.
Classical High School
District: Providence School District
Author: Jason Allard
Introduction
Classical High School, founded in 1843, is a public exam school in the Providence School District, in Providence RI. It was originally an all-male school, but has since become co-ed. Its motto is a translation of the famous translated Latin phrase, "To Strive, to Seek, to Find, and Not to Yield". It has been rated "High Performing and Sustaining" by its performance in 2005 on the New Standards Reference Exam, placing it third highest in the state. Classical High School stands roughly at the intersection of the Federal Hill, West End, and Upper South Providence neighborhoods.Classical High School is a magnet school, which is a public school offering a specialized curriculum, often with high academic standards, to a student body representing a cross section of the community. According to data from 2009, there are 1045 kids enrolled in grades 9-12. There are 69 teachers, which equates to a student to teacher ratio of 15:1. Of the freshman who were enrolled from 2004-2005, 93.8% graduated in 2008 (Info Source). This number is significantly higher than the state average of 74% in 2008. The purpose of this report is to analyze three main factors that play a role in Classical High School's performance. The three that will be covered are the following: Accountability (student achievement), students' point of view, and health behaviors.
Classical High School Location:
FIG. 2
Classical High School is proficient in both mathematics and English language arts based on the Rhode Island state target. The Rhode Island state target for mathematics was an estimated score of 62 and the average for all students was 79.6. The Rhode Island state target for English language arts was an estimated score of 75. The score for all students in English language arts was 21.3 points higher than the state target at an average score of 96.3. The above Fig. 1 shows a comparison between score averages of all students, Hispanic students, and economically discouraged students. Each of the statistics required a minimum 45 students in each group, so some demographics may not be represented. The performance of each of the groups represented are consistent with each other and show that cultural and economic backgrounds do not play a factor in this school's performance.
In addition to the greatly exceeding each of the state targets, Classical High School also boasts a huge participation rate. According to data from the InfoWorks website, 100% of the students enrolled at Classical High School who were eligible to take the exams participated, as can be seen in Fig. 2. It can be said that with regards to testing and state standards, Classical is maintaining consistent positive results both in Mathematics and English Language Arts. The demographics that were not included (African American, Asian, Native American, students with disabilities) may have fully participated, but did not meet the requirement of 45 participants in order for their results to be published in the report. Of the 19 targets evaluated for Classical High School, 19 were met. This reinforces the notion that Classical is a high performing high school.
Performance progress from the past 5 years has shown a consistent trend between Rhode Island test scores and the scores of Classical High School. Mathematics test scores show a correlation in the slight decline that has occurred. Despite this, Classical's mathematics scores are still 12-15 points higher than the state average over the 5 years. In English and Language Arts, the state and Classical High School have shown consistency, although the scores for Classical are repeatedly 10 points above the state average. Simply put, the students at Classical are high achieving and show no signs of declining.
Students attending Classical High School reported a relatively low percent of negative emotions compared to other Rhode Island High Schools. Of the students, 45% felt that they could talk to a teacher about academic issues and 10% felt comfortable enough to talk about personal or family problems.Of the students, 1 out of 5 reported not getting along with teachers and roughly 1 out of 4 reported drug use being pressured upon them. Less than 1 out of 10 students felt that bullying was a problem, however. Contrasting with this statistic, almost 1 out of 3 students reported that they have been robbed. To summarize, violence is not a major factor in Classical High School, but drug use and robbery seem to be a bigger problem. As an inner city school with a low amount of income, the students' actions may be reflective of their socioeconomic standing. The children need money so they resort to stealing or selling drugs. They rarely resort to violence, though. Based on the students' reactions to their environment, Classical High School needs to take further precautions into how students protect their belongings. Solutions to these problems may be to ensure working lockers, have a hallway patrol system, or to education students on ways they could handle their belongings more responsibly.
Conclusion
Overrall, Classical High School is a high performing school located in inner city Providence. While taking into account demographics as well as factors such as accountability, student's point of view, and health statistics, it is astounding to see the progress such a school has made. The fact that it is a magnet school reinforces the idea that the students at Classical are there because they want to learn. Compared to schools in the surrounding area it can be seen that Classical is a special school in that it is able to educate children in a supportive environment despite the generally poor communities surrounding it. More information on these surrounding schools can be located in the related context reports and can provide a more in depth comparison.